Proverbs 17:12

Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than (literally, and not; ) a fool in his folly.

It would be safer to meet a she-bear, infuriated by being robbed of her cubs (; ), than to encounter a fool hurried along by the full raging tide of his folly. "Fool ... folly," include the idea Sinner ... sin. The fiercest she-bear can be tamed by human sagacity, but a fool and sinner, as such, can be tamed by nothing short of Omnipotence. The fool spurns "reproof" (), and assails his faithful and kind reprover, as madmen attack their physician.